Michaels has no plans to rename or close Pat Catan’s stores after purchasing the rival craft store chain based in Northeast Ohio, company officials said.
“The Pat Catan’s stores …will continue to operate as free-standing,” a spokeswoman for Michaels said in a phone call on Wednesday. “There shouldn’t be any change to day-to-day operations. We don’t foresee any layoffs or closures.”
When asked whether a Pat Catan’s store located across Howe Avenue from a Michaels location in Cuyahoga Falls will remain, the spokeswoman said no stores are expected to close.
Strongsville-based Lamrite West Inc., the parent company of Pat Catan’s Arts and Craft Stores, has been bought by Irving, Texas-based competitor Michaels for $150 million. Lamrite was founded in 1954 and operates 34 Pat Catan’s stores and has a wholesale business, Darice, also based in Strongsville, which was included in the purchase.
The spokeswoman said Lamrite has a total of 1,600 employees, who will all remain in their current roles and operate as a distinct business.
The wholesale business sells products to a number of different customers and “will create opportunities for both organizations for product development and wholesale sourcing,” the spokeswoman said.
On its website, Pat Catan’s said the company was looking forward to its next chapter in the company and family history. The company also said while the stores will all remain open, the combination of the two craft retailers didn’t mean coupons from both stores would be honored at the other.
Michael Catanzarite, whose father Patsy Catanzarite founded the company, will continue to run the business as chief executive officer and joins Michaels’ executive committee.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ and see all her stories at www.ohio.com/betty